Band is NOT a sport.

First of all: Band. Is. Not. The. Same. As. Marching. Band.

Everyday, the Mira Mesa marching band marches outside in the stadium's freezing morning chill, and has individual practice three to four days a week after school for each instrumental section. On average, the band program logs 20 hours of practice and competition each week. But, non-band students always question, is band even a sport? 

In middle school, I would have assuredly said no- "Of course it isn't, all they do is walk and play songs!" However, after going through Mira Mesa's own program, the Sapphire Sound, much of my viewpoint on marching band has changed. By definition, it technically is a sport- "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another for entertainment". As a multi-sport athlete, I say, band is a sport. It's like playing soccer, but only using the toes of your feet to touch the ball, and only being able to move around without bending your knees- yet making the movement look fluid. But don't forget to bend your knees, you could pass out. Wait, what?

Still, majority of people asked will say, "all they do is walk?". Here's to why band is a sport: 

For one, band definitely takes up a hell of a lot of time. Yesterday, all band students went to Mira Mesa High at 5:30 AM, and stayed till 12:30 AM (yes, that's the next day) to hold our annual Mira Mesa Invitational Field Tournament, hosting over 30 high schools that came throughout the day. Not to mention Thursday night rehearsals from 5-9 PM, which leaves everyone scrambling to finish homework. This is the same as 2 AP classes, for me.

The work that actually goes to running a 10 minute show is astounding. This year, the Sapphire Sound's show, Beyond Perimeters, requires the band kids to memorize 80-something "dots", or places on the turf field. And we play music. Hard music. All memorized.

Again, "all they do is walk?" comes into play. We don't walk, we march. We point our toes while marching, clench our core muscles, open up the space between our chest and hips. We lean forward at a 60-40 degree, and breathe with "po" breaths. We, too, get calf cramps and sore feet. Sure, we may not do sprints and agility work, but I assure you, the amount of dedication going into our music and form is at the same of high level athletes. We train and train and train, just like you.

And while your sports team will always have rivalries, someone talking bad about another, we'll say, "good luck with that, bro". We are a family of over 150 people, and are still more united than yours. We go into competitions hours away, and come out strong. We are the Sapphire Sound.